The return of Lebanon Levi and the Amish Mafia

Remember Amish Mafia? The TV series on the Discovery Channel that purports to tell the story of an Amish / Mennonite band of protectors of the Plain faith in Lancaster County, Pa.? You know, the show with “Lebanon” Levi Stoltzfus and his crew of enforcers? The show that brought new meaning to the term “Amishploitation”?

Well, guess what. Amish Mafia is returning to the Discovery Channel for Season 2, with a two-hour premiere on March 3.

You guys can have Honey Boo Boo and Kate Gosselin and those Bachelor / Bachelorette shows. I need me my dose of the Sopranos of South Central Pennsylvania.

So what’s been going on with our crew of enforcers since the show wrapped up its first season a few weeks ago?

Well, according to Lancaster Online, John Freeman Schmucker – the member of Lebanon Levi’s gang who tried to improve his position in the organization, then left to join rival Amish gangster Merlin Miller and his Amish crew from Holmes County, Ohio – got arrested a couple of weeks ago. What for, you ask? Was it racketeering? Extortion? Illegal “cow patty bingo” games?

Well… John actually had some outstanding warrants for vehicular hit-and-run issues, as well as for driving with a suspended license. In the most serious case, and I quote from the newspaper report, “In the most serious case, Schmucker is charged with striking a woman’s vehicle at a Columbia intersection, then leaving the scene before police and medical personnel arrived. He was driving a vehicle, on a suspended license, that belonged to the TV production company affiliated with Discovery Channel, a police affidavit shows.”

That’s right. Nothing like getting a hit-and-run citation while driving the vehicle you’re using that’s being paid for by the Discovery Channel, the network that’s airing your record-breaking TV show. Oh, those wacky Amish…

Another character in the Amish Mafia show has dealt with his own legal issues after the show’s successful first season. Alan Beiler, the schwartz Amish who spent most of the first season in prison, has been charged with drug possession and eluding police. According to the Harrisburg Patriot-News, the person in charge of organizing Lebanon Levi’s “hut parties” led police on a high-speed chase through Lancaster County. When Beiler finally stopped and surrendered to police, the cops searched Beiler’s Jeep and found some hashish, some Oxycodone, and some muscle relaxants and anti-anxiety drugs. Surprisingly, the search of the Jeep found no traces of “green corn.”

Meanwhile, some residents of Lancaster County are trying to exploit the Amish Mafia phenomenon for their own benefit. One person is even organizing the “Amish Mafia Tour,” which purports to dispel as many myths as possible about the show and its depictions and portrayals of the Amish and Mennonite cultures. No word on whether the tour will include authentic re-creations of buggy races, hut parties, and MMA-influenced barn fights.

And what of Lebanon Levi, the Don Corleone of the horse-and-buggy set?

Well, if you can get to the Matthews Public Library in Lebanon, Pa. today from 2pm to 5pm, you might actually meet him. He’s doing a fundraiser at the library, with $10 tickets available for the meet and greet. Hopefully he will be in a good mood; I’ve seen episodes of Amish Mafia where he gets angry and starts shouting in a whiny, high-pitched voice that can call dogs and shatter wine glasses.

And as for fans of the show… Season 2 is on its way, with that two-hour premiere on March 3.

After the show airs… tune in to this blog on Monday, March 4, for a complete review of cable’s most popular – and trashy – faux reality series. Bring your shoo-fly pie and wide-brimmed hats.

LB – It’s definitely more of a “love-hate.” I hate that the show purports a stereotype of the Amish as peaceful until provoked. I hate that they used the Nickel Mines shooting as a plot point. But this show has become so trashy, so phony, so full of baloney, that it’s developed its own “can’t help but watch it” gutteral sophistication.

There are only “three” versions of Storage Wars? Are you also counting Container Wars, Storage Hunters, Baggage Battles, etc.?

Hello, my name is Tim and i am an Amish Mafia addict.
OK OK a really bad joke, but I really am addicted. I am ashamed to tell you how many times I have watched each episode. But now, my favorite character has become Big Steve. And I can find absolutely nothing about him. HELP. Is a “need to know.”

Well, I’m counting the “official” ones that spun off from the original on A&E. I watched some of the other copycat shows and found them boring and poorly produced. If I’m going to watch implausible nonsense, I at least want really slick, well-edited implausible nonsense.

Who the hell does this “Levi” pal think he is? Do him and his little pack of backwater rednecks (cause thats what they are) think their cops? I’d like to see them try their lip in front of a real cop and see where it gets them. This shows a joke.

Really, does it matter if it’s real or not? This is enterainment and you CHOOSE to watch or not. I was raised in a similar cult type religious group and can see there being some basis of truth, the parties, drug use, etc. And some in each group feel they are above the law under cover of religion. But still doesn’t matter, this is entertainment I CHOOSE to watch and I love it. MORE AMISH MAFIA…please.

DebbZee: If it’s advertised as a reality show (and it has been marketed as such) then there is a reasonable expectation that the show will have some basis in reality. Anyone who thinks that the Amish Mafia bears any resembelance to the reality of Amish life is sorely mistaken, as is the idea that the Amish are a cult. They are not.

So what happened to the new episodes? March 3rd has come and gone and I haven’t seen any new episodes! WTF! Can someone tell me whats going on? I even checked the Discovery channel website and all they have listed is season 1. Did I miss something?